Waterbury's Brass Trail: Pedestrian Networks in Urban Design
The following article was excerpted from original ISTEA funding application for publication in Connecticut Woodlands, a quarterly magazine of the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association (walkCT.org). Founded in 1895, the Association is the state.s oldest conservation organization and was instrumental in the initial formation of the state parks and forests throughout the state, and is the steward of the 900 mile Blue Trail system. Mr. Parsons has served as a director in the Association since 1998.
The typical urban sidewalk is a trail, part of an integral, organic walking network. At first the notion seems far fetched: the hard, cold utility of concrete in the congested city versus a natural, worn path in a serene wood. But the argument for relating the two could help provide a framework for improved planning, land use, and design in both city and country. A model for resolving this apparent dilemma is the Brass Trail, now being designed for Waterbury, Connecticut.....read more
A Project for Restoration of St. Peter's Church Bell Tower, Cheshire CT
The following is an excerpt from a grant application for a Connecticut Historic Resource Fund (HRF) Grant written in 2006. The project won funding in 2007 and the tower restoration was completed in July of 2008. Sources of information include accounts from church historical records by Helen Bray and reports of more recent history by Charles Waggoner.
The brick Victorian gothic Bell Tower of St. Peter.s Episcopal Church, a community landmark in Cheshire, Connecticut is the culmination of a structure that evolved over many years. This tower is now threatened with serious deterioration to the brick and wood exterior due to damage from water that had infiltrated for many years. The sounding of the bell, once part of the familiar day-to-day atmosphere of the community has fallen silent, since any movement of its great weight threatens its structure, with the potential for the bell itself falling, causing loss of the bell itself, and irreparable damage to the tower...read more